One Thousand Words
by Nakimochiku
Summary: A Picture says a thousands words, and he had a thousand words to say. Grimm x Ichi
1. Beauty Is A Word

BEAUTY IS A WORD

_nyahaha! First chapter/story/thingy. I'm pretty sure you'll like this. More AU goodness! Enjoy!_

A camera is a means to capture a moment. To stop time and remember it forever. He had no other passion in life than to stop time. He stopped time for the beautiful woman down the street, never letting her get old or ugly. He stopped time for the father playing with his children, making it so they stayed with him forever. He stopped time because he was saving them in his own way.

But stopping time for them made him sad.

Because when he saw that beautiful face, set to get to her destination, he wondered if she was still beautiful now. When he saw those smiles, he wondered if those children were still playing with their father.

Cameras stop time. But only for a moment.

And then he saw him. Blue hair standing out against a crowd of black and brown. His outfit was tight, bright and flashing against the sunlight.

If beauty is only a word, then he was the god send that signified it.

He raised his camera quickly, he didn't want the beauty to escape. He would stop time for him too. That beauty looked so natural, so perfect, yet abnormal. He snapped a picture as he was crossing the street. He was perfect. The long strides and grace that seemed to be a given more than trained into his body. The way his hands here stuffed in the pockets of his slightly outlandish clothes.

Beauty wasn't just a word anymore.

It was almost as if he could feel that someone was watching him, because he turned, looking strait at him, then grinned. He couldn't get his camera into his lap fast enough. The epiphany of beauty walked up to him, still grinning.

"If you're going to take pictures of me, at least pay me for it. Then maybe I'll strike more poses than just that." he said. He sat at his table as if he knew him already, taking his camera with him. "Are you a pervert or do you just like taking pictures?" he asked, studying the camera.

"Shut up! I'm an art student. I love photography."

He nodded absently, and handed the camera back to him. "You've got a good one. They don't make them like that any more."

He nodded happily. "It was my mom's. it catches the light perfectly."

He smiled. "I wouldn't mind having pictures taken of me with a camera like that. It'd do me justice. I'm Grimmjow by the way."

It was a strange name at best. "Ichigo kurosaki." when they shook hands, Grimmjow slipped a piece of paper into his hand.

"Call that number if you ever want inspiration." he grinned again and got up, not quite disappearing into a sea of heads.

Beauty was surely a word created only to describe Grimmjow.

OWARI

_so. What do you think. This isn't quite so dramatic as A Book of Black Walls, but it'll have it's points. I hope you enjoy it!_


	2. A Powerful Word

A POWERFUL WORD

_chappie two lovelies. Enjoy!_

The pictures were just what he needed to get an A. He'd faded out everyone else in the crowd so Grimmjow stood out more than he already did. They were a dull gray while he was a shock of white and blue.

He hadn't seen Grimmjow since then. He couldn't tell if he wanted to or not. But he found himself staring at those pictures that were currently his masterpieces.

He admitted that when he went out to take pictures, he couldn't find anything quite so beautiful as him. He couldn't find something quite so perfect or abnormal or wonderfully graceful. He couldn't find anything that came up to his now raised bar.

Grimmjow was what he wanted.

But he wasn't exactly eager to call him and make himself seem clingy or something. So he wanted a little until every ounce of creativity seeped from him and he found it a chore to do that very thing he loved most.

"Hiya babe." he heard Grimmjow's voice over the line when he picked up. Apparently he acted that familiar all the time. "Want my photos again?"

"How did you know it was me?" Ichigo asked, trying not to stray to the topic he dreaded.

"Caller ID. So, when do you want me to come over?" he sounded tired, Ichigo noted.

"Um, today...if you want."

"Sure. Address?" He gave it to Grimmjow, who sounded like he was about to drop asleep over the phone. "I'll be right over."

In the fifteen minutes, Ichigo scurried about his spacious dorm room, setting up his set and cleaning and getting his camera ready. He got out the costume he wanted Grimmjow to wear and asked Matsumoto down the hall if he could borrow her make up set.

"Hey, babe!" Grimmjow called from the other side of the door. "Let me in!"

"It's open!" Grimmjow entered, taking in the neat surroundings.

"Nice place. Where do you want me?" Ichigo only thrust the costume into his arms. Not making a sound. When Grimmjow came out again, the pants of the costume were falling off his hips. "Who was this costume for anyway?" he asked, holding them as Ichigo pinned them into place.

"My cousin made it for a friend of mine. He's in this school too, have to send him emails all the time though... I'll get your measurements when we're done the shoot."

"And what am I supposed to be?"

"An arrancar. Don't ask me what that means, I have no clue either." The photo shoot went well, Ichigo was a quiet photographer who only used his hand gestures to point Grimmjow the way he wanted him. "Let me see the mask, it's the best part." Grimmjow turned a bit to the right.

"So, are you happy with the way the photo shoot went?" Grimmjow asked, holding a mug of coffee Ichigo had made for him.

"It was good."

When Grimmjow left, Ichigo got out a little blade from under his bed. This was something he'd been doing since he was young. It didn't make him feel better. But doing this to himself was better than taking it out on other people. He slowly cut his left thigh, letting the blood drip to the hardwood floor.

No. This didn't make him feel better. It made him feel like he was frozen. Stuck in that time. It was like his mother's camera was trapping him. Freezing him into that time when she'd given it to him.

Just before she'd died.

OWARI

_mmm. Review me pretty lovelies. Thank you very much light angel!_


	3. A Word With Half Meaning

A WORD WITH HALF MEANING

_yup, chapter three. I better finish it! I always seem to stop at chapter three. Enjoy!_

He still had the picture of her on the hospital bed. It was hidden away with the other pictures and things under his bed.

He looked at it, every now and again. He saw the way her smile strained at the corners, the way her eyes were dropping like she wanted to sleep. Truth be told, it was his first truly artistic photo. Maybe, it should have been his last.

But his mother had loved photography, and he needed something of her other than pictures in his life.

Her orange hair was dulled, bland, but the setting sun brightened it again. She was laying on her back, face turned towards him so he could take a photo. He was only eight then. He didn't exactly understand what she meant when she said 'remember forever'

he didn't want to remember anymore.

The phone rang at 6 am, that time Ichigo reserved for cleaning half dried blood from the floor and slicing up his already cut leg. "Hello?"

"Hey."

"Who?" Ichigo asked, he recognized the voice, but he couldn't place a thumb on who.

"Ya don't remember me? How rude. And 'ere I was thinkin' we were cousins."

"Hichigo?!" Ichigo smiled brightly. Sometimes his year younger cousin was the only thing that cheered him up. Asides from photography.

"Ya know it. I got tha' email 'bout the costumes. Ya want more, ne?" he could hear Hichigo's smile over the phone, and he stopped cutting.

"Yea, I want more."

"He's a pretty one right? Can I see 'im too? I've got tons of things I could sew for someone his size."

"How did you know it was a guy?" he tucked the knife away soundlessly. Hichigo had telepathy, he could tell when he was cutting and when he was sad.

"Ha! I know ya well enough! Besides, I could tell from the height."

"Alright. Don't give him anything too weird. I made him wear Renji's arrancar outfit."

"Did it fit?"

"Everything but the hips."

"Alright."

Hichigo made him feel happy. He was the person he could absolutely stand. Hichigo had been with him, at that time. Hichigo had held him, told him everything would be alright. Hichigo had been there with him, cutting sometimes too, if only so he wouldn't have to watch his cousin in pain.

Hichigo was that wonderful cousin. And he was sure he would have died if Hichigo hadn't been there.

OWARI

_yea! Chapter three! You're going to learn about hichigo and ichigo's past next chappie._


	4. Something Remembered

SOMETHING REMEMBERED

_yup, chappie four._

Hichigo had moved in with them around the time Masaki got sick. He was Ichigo's friend and company more than his little sisters could ever be. Hichigo laughed loudly and talked with an accent. Hichigo made the house brighter.

Hichigo made it seem like everything was going to be alright.

Hichigo was good with his hands. He taught him how to knit and how to sew and a whole bunch of other things that included slow steady movements of the hand. He was what got Ichigo interested in creativity. He was a good and bad influence on him.

He was what kept Ichigo alive all these years.

"Ichigo! Yer beloved cousin 'as just got 'is ass back from British Columbia. Now get ov'r 'ere and give 'im a kiss!" Hichigo called when he stepped through the door, arms loaded down with bags and bags of what Ichigo suspected to be cloth.

"I wouldn't kiss you...ever." even as he said that, he gave Hichigo as kiss to the cheek and hugged him.

"So ya say king." Hichigo dropped his bags near Ichigo's camera stand and went out into the hall to pick up his sewing machine, dropping that near the bags as well.

"You still remember that game?" Ichigo asked moving to the kitchen to get Hichigo food. "I thought we were done with that."

"Not in a million years." Hichigo set up the table for his sewing machine and got out a long piece of black cloth. "I've got a new costume ready ta be sewed. Ask tha' guy ov'r so I can measure him properly. After this I hafta find myself a place." with that, Hichigo started sewing, yellow eyes trained on the work before him.

Pictures of Grimmjow were always his best. The arrancar photos were his new best, the back ground of the sky above a city was perfect, made it seem as if grimmjow was flying. When he showed Grimmjow, he laughed.

"Turns out you're better than I thought. I hadn't thought much of you since you were a college kid."

When he called Grimmjow, the elder seemed happy to come over. Though he still sounded quite tired. "Who's that?" he asked when he came through the door."

"Hichigo Kurosaki, cousin ta the lovely boy you see ov'r there." when he gave Grimmjow his costume, he leaned in. "Hurt 'im and ya die. 'e's been through enough without ya." Grimmjow seemed puzzled, then grinned, and went off to change.

"What did you say to him?" Ichigo scowled.

"Nothing at all. Just a horse helpin' out 'is lovely king." Hichigo grinned at the sour expression. "You like 'im , right?" he laughed when Ichigo sputtered and blushed. "I'm just makin' sure 'e's right for ya, s'all."

"He doesn't have to be. I'm not interested in him." Ichigo defended. Yea. Hichigo definitely had telepathy.

Hichigo smiled. "So ya say king, so ya say."

OWARI

_yup yup, chapter ...4 right?bleh. It's going slowly. I wonder what's gonna happen next chapter..._


	5. So Very Tainted

SO VERY TAINTED

_chappie five...enjoy!_

Ichigo hated himself for liking Grimmjow. Hated himself for liking his beauty and his smile and everything that made him grimmjow. He hated that he loved him because it was so very wrong. He hated himself. He wanted to make himself ugly because it was so very wrong.

But Hichigo was staying tonight, sleeping in his room, on the floor right next to his bed. He couldn't get his knife at all. He was positive Hichigo knew where he hid his knife.

"Ya know..." Hichigo said thoughtfully into the darkness, interrupting his tormented thoughts. "I don't exactly want ta give ya away ta 'im...but...I know ya like 'im, so I shouldn't hold ya back, should I?"

"Stop telling me I like him. I don't" Ichigo refused to believe that he liked the blue eyed man. Refused to believe that he could like anybody at all.

"You're hurting yourself still, aren't you." it was when Hichigo spoke like that. When he knew everything, when he could read him like an open book, when he spoke without his accent... Hichigo knew him better than anyone, better than himself.

It was like Hichigo_ was_ him.

"Stop hurting yourself Ichigo. You hurt me every time you do it! All the way in British Columbia I can feel every cut." His white-haired cousin leaned up onto the bed, staring into his face. He was positive Hichigo couldn't see the tears that gleamed there. "Stop, please?"

"I can't, not yet. Not until it's all gone."

"You're only going to go too far if you keep it up" Hichigo warned. He knew Hichigo was scared for him. Hichigo had been scared for him the day they started cutting together, to the day he'd stopped, to the day he'd left for British Columbia after highschool. And all this time, Hichigo had been worrying himself sick for someone who didn't even deserve attention. "It's never going to go away. You keep holding it tighter and tighter every time you cut." Hichigo hugged him in an awkward manner. "Let it go."

"I want to forget it."

"You'll never forget."

"Then I won't stop."

"That'll only make it worse." Hichigo kissed him gently on the lips, the kind of kiss family gave to family. He loved Hichigo best, so he was positive, absolutely sure he didn't love Grimmjow. "Please. Try to go a week without it."

"I have to let it go."

"You won't let it go if you continue."

"You'll help me right?"

Hichigo kissed him again. "Yea, I'll help."

So why did he want Grimmjow to save him?

OWARI

_what are ya thinking?! I love this. May you please note Hichichi is really angry and sad at Ichi-kun, that's why I didn't put in his accent, I know I said that but...well whatever. Review me pretty lovelies!_


	6. Not Any Deeper

NOT ANY DEEPER

_yup, chappie six. Ya happy about it? Are ya? Enjoy!_

"So, what am I this time?" Grimmjow asked, remaining in the position Ichigo left him in, sitting in front of a blank screen.

"A fairy! Can't ya tell?" Hichigo exclaimed, watching a busy Ichigo bustle around absently.

"Aren't I supposed to have wings?" Grimmjow asked. He was sitting in nothing but a pair of loose moss green pants.

"Che! Don't ya know anythin'?! Ichigo's going to put that in later as special effects. Anything else would completely ruin a good shot."

"Well excuse me. I'm only a model, I don't know anything else about this stuff." The list of costumes Hichigo made for Grimmjow went on and on. Shinigami, vampire, werewolf (that costume raised many eyebrows) among other things. There was no end to the things Hichigo wanted Grimmjow to wiggle his ass into. Honestly, all three of them had tons of fun during photo shoots.

"It's a wrap! Grimmjow, you want coffee?" Ichigo asked, already moving to the kitchen.

"Make me some toooooo! Ichigo ya meanie!" Hichigo called after him.

"You expect me to make you coffee after that?"

"I've got to get home actually. But thanks." Grimmjow shed his costume and donned his street clothes, waving over his shoulder. "Bye!"

"'e 'asn't made a move on ya." Hichigo commented with a sly smirk. "Are you gonna make the first move?"

"We're not like that." Ichigo reasoned. Every time his mischevious cousin said things like that, he became painfully aware of all the things he'd done to make it look like he liked Grimmjow. They weren't much, just frequent glances in the older man's direction or little unnecessary touches. He knew Hichigo had picked up every single one of them.

"Mayeb yer not, which ya are, but 'e is." Hichigo assured, cradling a mug of coffee.

"Oh shut up! It's late, let's go to bed."

The phone rang at 3 am. A half asleep Ichigo picked up the phone, ignoring Hichigo's snores. "Hello...?" he grunted.

"Come over here...please?" he was sure it was grimmjow's voice, but it was rough as if he'd been sleeping or something. "I'll tell you my place." Ichigo scrawled down the address. It was early morning, and all he really wanted was to go back to sleep. But something told him something was wrong. When he knocked on Grimmjow's door, he found it open.

"Grimmjow?!" he called. No one answered, it didn't even look like anyone was there. "Grimmjow, you're scaring me. Where are you?" He searched through the flat until he came to the bathroom. He switched on the light and nearly had the life scared out of him when he found Grimmjow laying on the floor. For a moment, he thought the model was dead, until he realized he was only unconscious, his broad chest rising and falling slowly. He dragged Grimmjow into his bedroom, heaved him onto the bed.

He smelled strongly of alcohol.

He was kind of shocked when Grimmjow blinked his eyes open. He looked at Ichigo for a moment, eyes still blurry. "My best friend died today."

What could he say to that?

OWARI

_yay baby! Almost_ _done the entire story babes! Onto chapter 7! You have no idea how tired I am!_


	7. Like An Infection

LIKE AN INFECTION

_yup. Here I am lovelies. About (because I'm not really sure) 3 away from the end. How are you liking so far lovelies? So tired..._

Grimmjow wobbled down the narrow hall into the kitchen. "He died when he promised he'd stay with me." he said absently, grabbing a beer from the fridgeand gulping it down, then grabbing another. "He'd promised, so I wonder why he's gone..."

"You're going to get sick." Ichigo said, taking the can away from him and slamming the fridge door shut. Grimmjow glared at him, going back to his room, huddling on the farthest bed from the door. Ichigo hadn't realized it was there until Grimmjow had went to it.

"Ulquiorra is the reason I got into modeling. He wanted to be a model so bad, he tried everything. He tried to help. He told me my drinking problem was unhealthy, that it wouldn't help. He'd really tried to stop me and cared more than anybody." Grimmjow took a deep breath and flopped back onto the bed. "He'd promised to save me. So where did he go?"

Ichigo watched silently as Grimmjow had a mental breakdown. He knew how Hichigo felt now, when he was trying to get him to stop cutting. He knew the pain Hichigo felt. He wanted Grimmjow to stop hurting himself.

"I hope I can just die. Then maybe I'll see him again." Grimmjow gave Ichigo a half meant smile. "He'll probably hit me for killing myself. Right across the face, the way he always does when he finds me drunk. Where is he to hit me now?"

Ichigo watched him a moment more before sitting on the bed with him. He shed his shirt, twisting a bit so Grimmjow could see his scar covered flesh. "This is what I do to myself. This is what he's trying to stop." Grimmjow's eyes widened. "Hichigo wants me to live. So you think the least I can do is live for him right? But Hichigo might disappear one day, the same way your Ulquiorra did. So I have to live for myself, right?"

"Ulquiorra made it better..."

"So does Hichigo. But, I've got...to let it go..right? My mom died. It was a sickness I can't even remember the name of. Hichigo was there with me. He knew why I was sad. I wanted to let it go, so I started cutting. Hichigo said I was making it worse and told me it'd get better when I stopped..." Ichigo sighed, putting his shirt back on. "But, I guess I shouldn't use Hichigo as a crutch, should I? Or else, if I lose him...I'll die. No...we've both gotta stand on our own two feet."

"I feel like I've already fallen."

"That's only the alcohol. Let's make each other a promise, we'll stop together." Ichigo smiled at him, the rare little smile he only ever showed Hichigo when he was feeling up to it.

"Yea...alright." Ichigo got up from the bed, about to leave when Grimmjow grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He released a little squeak when he fell into Grimmjow's lap. Grimmjow leaned down, and placed a kiss on Ichigo's lips. He released Grimmjow and flopped back onto the bed, not saying a word. He was asleep.

"It was the alcohol. It was the alcohol." Ichigo tried to assure himself. He didn't see the smile on the model's mouth.

Hichigo called him on the walk home. "So, how did it go?" he asked, voice slick with cunning. "Ya guys only took an hour..." Ichigo groaned at the idea of what Hichigo could possibly be thinking about.

"We didn't do anything..."

"So ya say king." Hichigo laughed. "But ya sound like somethin' 'appened"

"He only kissed me..."

"Alright then. If I know ya two got tha' far, I think I can le' nature take the rest." Hichigo was smiling at him, Ichigo knew. But. If he was trying so hard to push them together, he must be pretty sure they were meant for each other.

They could destroy each other too, if they wanted.

OWARI

_mmmmm. Review lovelies, I'm sooo tired..._


	8. You Can Take A Picture

YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE

_yup! Chappie 8. I'm mad at ulquiorra for leaving an unstable Grimmjow behind. Enjoy!_

Days passed by agonizingly slowly. Maybe it was because he didn't have his cutting, he couldn't release the pain the way he knew how. When he told Hichigo his problem, his cousin smiled at him and handed him a notebook.

"This is how I got over the things the happened to me while I was in BC. It'll do you some good too." Hichigo told him.

Ichigo wasn't a very good writer. He didn't feel the words flowing as he released every thought like writers did. He only wrote down what happened to him. When he started to feel a little more creative, he wrote poems. They weren't beautiful, not like his photography, but they were enough.

"Sometimes, it takes writin' 'bout somethin' ta truly understand wha' happened." Hichigo said, watching absently as Ichigo wrote, bent over the notebook, writing furiously.

Ichigo told Grimmjow it was a good way to get over Ulquiorra's death. "It's helping me, I think. I'm sure it'll help you."

Grimmjow was a way better writer than Ichigo thought. His poems were artistic, beautiful. They flowed and jumped and made Ichigo's heart race with every heart broken word.

"Ulquiorra must have been very important to you." Ichigo observed a little jealously after reading one of said poems. Grimmjow shrugged, taking the notebook back to write more of his thoughts.

"He...was my best friend in the entire world. He was my ally when everyone else was my enemy. He was my ally when _I_ was my enemy." Grimmjow shrugged again. "He was my best friend, but nothing more."

Ichigo raised his camera that he kept always in his lap. Grimmjow's head was bowed, his face distant as he put thoughts gorgeously onto paper. The shutter closed, and he knew he would now have that moment forever.

Time would stop for him, he didn't want it to move. Just like this, he was happy. He didn't want his happiness to leak away, the same way it did all the time.

Why was happiness and faith and peace and joy so hard to hold on to? Why was it so addicting?

Ulquiorra had Grimmjow's heart more than he did.

"Ya two are gettin' better." Hichigo stated, looking at a cut that had healed over to make sure it was alright. Ichigo hummed. "'e's depressed righ' now but...don' chicken out when 'e's happy again, ya hear? And if ya start cuttin', I'll cut ya up myself!" Hichigo stressed. He was still worried about him, not totally sure if Ichigo was really alright. He was afraid to move out.

"Why do you want us together so bad?" Ichigo asked, putting his shirt back on when Hichigo was finished.

"Cuz 'e makes ya smile. Besides, ya need someone other 'han me ta love, ne?" Hichigo smiled at him, that cute little smile he gave when he was telling the truth. "And...I saw ya when ya were sad. And I ain't never wanna see ya like 'hat 'gain. It rains when yer not happy, eh king."

He was happy now. He was sure everything was alright. He had Hichigo and he had Grimmjow and he had his camera. His camera that made him sad yet took the pain away. His camera that caught the light just so, and stopped time for all the people who didn't want to go on.

It stopped it, if not just for a moment.

OWARI

_yea! After wracking my brain, I finally figured out how grimmy-chan's gonna confess ta ichi! Woot woot! So... stick around for next chapter! Done in two more yo!_


	9. A Beautiful Picture

A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE

_yup, chapter nine. This one was done even faster than "A Book Of Black Walls" hee hee. Only 2 days...enjoy!_

The sun seemed a little brighter. The earth a little warmer. The people were a little kinder. Or maybe it was all him? He watched a small girl jump through the water fountain in the park, shutter snapping close just as she leapt through the cold spray. He watched an old man chat happily with his daughter.

He would freeze time for the old man and the little girl. She could enjoy her play forever, and he could talk as long as he wanted, his daughter would never leave him.

He froze time because it was his passion. Because he wanted them happy, even though they didn't know him. He wanted to see smiling faces forever.

"Hey." Grimmjow and Hichigo greeted at the same moment, joining him at the café table. They ordered coffees, and watched as Ichigo's shutter went off a few more times before their coffees arrived.

"We taking photos outside or something? Hichigo brought a scary amount of clothes..." Grimmjow asked, staring at the huge shopping bag the white haired boy carried.

"Shut up will ya. For once they're not costumes. Jus' clothes...tha' I designed myself." Hichigo dug around in the bag a little and shoved the bundle into Grimmjow's waiting arms. "King wants a scrapbook of us before I go back ta BC" Hichigo explained. "But I'll be mailin' ya guys costumes, so no need ta fret."

"And here I thought I could escape you." Grimmjow mumbled, earning a slap from Hichigo. The day was filled with Ichigo's camera going off. It wasn't artistic, it was there because they wanted it. Ichigo wanted to freeze time at this happy moment, if only so he could have it and remember it forever. They dropped Hichigo off at the airport.

"Alright. King, start cuttin' an' ya know I'll find out. Grimmjow, start drinkin' an' I'm sure king'll tell me." Hichigo hugged both of them. Then kissed them both on the cheek. "When I come back, ya'll two better be 'appier than me!" He waved, and turned to walk onto the plane gate. Then he ran back. "An' I'll send ya'll some maple syrup! The shit's the best!" he turned again, and both Grimmjow and Ichigo were half expecting him to run out once more.

"Come over to my place again? It's gonna get lonely for you at your apartment." Grimmjow invited. Ichigo agreed readily, his note book under his arm and his camera around his neck. They hung around in the apartment, Ichigo playing video games and Grimmjow writing. "Ichigo, read this, will ya?"

It was a poem, Ichigo realized, dedicated to him.

"_You told me to stand on my feet_

_here I am standing_

_you told me not to use crutches_

_but I'm still using you_

_but that's alright because I know I'll have you forever._

_You told me to love my own way_

_here I am loving_

_you told me to be myself_

_my soul is bared_

_you thought it was only the alcohol._

_I was in a perfect state of mind."_

Ichigo always thought it was only in movies. He'd never imagined he'd be won over by a cleverly written poem. Ever. It seemed impossible. He read the poem. Re read it. And read it a fourth time, always feeling the same sickening jump in his stomach. Grimmjow was grinning at him, waiting for the answer he already knew he would hear.

"Alright you arrogant bastard." Grimmjow laughed, pulling him into his arms and kissing him.

"Is it still the alcohol?"

"Probably is."

OWARI

_nee hee hee. One more chapter to go. You'll like it. Ya!_


	10. And It'll Last Forever

AND IT'LL LAST FOREVER

_last chappie? Ya happy or sad? Hee hee. Hichichi ain't gone yet no worries._

He guessed they were happy. And he was pretty sure they were. He was happy, Grimmjow was happy, so it was fine.

Those smiles of other people. Why did he need to save them? Did he not have his own smiles to build his happiness off of? And when he froze time, what were the consequences?

He was saving them in his own way, but saving them for himself. The little girl and the old man and the father and the beautiful woman. He was saving them, doing them a favor that they would never know of, but it was a way to save himself.

Photography after all, is a means of expression. And a camera only ever sees what the wielder points it at.

Hichigo made a habit of calling early. "Hi hi!" he chirped. "It wen' well?" he asked, oh yes, there was the smile, Ichigo was sure. That cunning smile that said 'I told you so'.

"Define well."

"Ya an' Grimmy are an item, wha' else?!" Hichigo laughed. Ichigo scowled. Yup, he definitely knew everything.

"Dammit, I 'ate long distance callin'...anyway! I gotta ge' off, but tell Grimmy good luck! 'e'll need it if 'e wants ta get ya inta bed."

"Shut up you!" with that Ichigo shut the phone off, but he could still hear the cackling laughter of his cousin.

Who said grimmjow would need any luck at all?

Grimmjow kneeled before an altar, eyes shut and hands together respectfully. On the altar was a stoic picture of Ulquiorra in his favorite green make up.

"I've got a boyfriend now. Me and him are really happy. And I've stopped drinking. See? I've taken all your bitch slaps to heart.

I was gonna commit suicide when you died. Not because I was sad, ya bastard, so don't go getting happy. It was cause I wanted to bitch slap you myself for leaving me. But. I don't want to do that anymore.

I don't think I wanna rush to death when I've got people here waiting for me.

I'm a model now, by the way. Turns out one of Ichigo's, my boyfriend, professors recommended me to a photographer friend of their's. I'm doing enough living for both of us."

Grimmjow opened his eyes, standing up. He grinned at the picture, positive Ulquiorra could hear every word he said.

And maybe it was just a trick of the light, but he could swear he saw the picture smile.

A PERFECT END

_hi hi! Hee hee hee hee! I love the end especially! Scratch. I love the last sentance. Tell me what you're thinking babes! A perfect end indeed...hee hee... and take that sentance about good luck however you want to. Hee hee..._


End file.
